fading light and fading memories
by V. Sourweather
Summary: Marlene McKinnon watches the sunset, and she wishes she could keep her happy memories forever. [Marlene McKinnon lives!AU, Voldemort wins!AU, Slice of life fic]


_This is very angsty, and it's completely AU. First, it's a Marlene McKinnon lives!AU, and then it's a Voldemort wins!AU._

_Summary: Marlene McKinnon watches the sunset, and she wishes she could keep her happy memories forever. _

_Rating: T_

_Warning: One occurrence of language, slice of life fic, and general angst_

_Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling, and nothing belongs to me. I don't make any money out of this story._

_.:._

_Written for:_

_**[HSWW]** Assignment #7: __Transfiguration_:_ Becoming an Animagus / Task #3 - Write about something happening at sunrise or sunset (**I chose sunset**)_

_Word count (without the A/N): 854 words_

* * *

**_fading light and fading memories: _****Marlene McKinnon**

She can see the light of the sunset filtering through the bars of the only window of her cell. She is lying on her cot and she doesn't even know how she finds the strength to stand up one more time.

She has told herself a million times over that they wouldn't break her, but they have. She can understand that now. They have taken everything from her, and now she can't even remember who she was anymore. She is certain she has some happy memories left, but they're hidden from her, hidden in the depths of her mind, and every time _they_ visit her, it still feels like she is falling into a never-ending pit of darkness and despair. The only memories they leave her with are the worst ones; how she has been forced to witness the death and the torture of her parents and her little brother, how she has felt when she's seen the corpse of Dorcas, her best friend…

And now, she can't recall she once loved to watch the sunset in the company of a dark-haired man with grey eyes who always looked at her like she was everything. She just knows that every day, she is attracted to this light when it shows itself.

She is stumbling towards the little barred window (which resembles a hole more than a proper window). She can hear, distantly, the rumbling of the chains behind her, and she doesn't even have the strength (or the capability) to compare herself to a _fucking _dog.

She leans on the wall for support, and then she uses what remains of her strength to grab the bars and stand on her tiptoes. She almost falls over against the wall, but her grip on the bars is strong enough to maintain her upright.

A small, empty smile etches itself upon her lips when she sees the different nuances of red and orange painted on the sky. They're reflected on the turbulent sea, and she can see the beauty of it all. She can even say it's the most perfect sunset she has seen since the last visit of her torturers, one week ago. Or maybe it's been longer or shorter since their last stop in her cell. She doesn't know. All she knows is that it's been a long time since she's lost count of the days she's spent here, alone and imprisoned.

_This would be a beautiful sunset to die on, _she thinks then, and right now her thoughts are clearer than they have been for a long time.

That's when she feels it. The cold biting into her body covered in nothing but rags. She thinks she would have gotten used to it by now, but it still feels like death is knocking on her door. And maybe this time, it really is.

She slowly lets go of the bars and turns towards the door of her cell, which opens slowly. She isn't surprised when she sees the tall, black figure behind it. They always come at sunset. When it floats towards her, she smiles bitterly. In truth, she has been waiting for this one for a long, long time. It feels like an eternity has passed since their last visit, and she has to admit she can't wait for a happy reminiscence to resurface, be it for one second, from the depths of her mind.

She walks back to her cot and lies down, her eyes fixed on the fading light that filters through the bars. When the Dementor blocks the rays of light, she closes her eyes and paints them behind her eyelids. She wants this memory to be the first one to go, and the happiest memories she has, still hidden in the depths of her mind, to be the last ones to resurface and the last ones to be drained from her.

She feels the cold seeping through her bones and she gasps aloud. It's the only form of protestation she is allowed. And suddenly…

Suddenly, everything is gone. The red and orange nuances disappear and are replaced by darkness. She hears a voice then, a delighted voice which calls out her name. "Marlene! McKinnon!" it shouts. And her own laugh fills her head over the drumming in her ears, just for one second. She can see a flash of a laugh on her healthy features and her blonde, beautiful hair whirling around her face as she runs around a dark-haired man. Her feet are barely touching the sand beneath them and the light of the sunset is dancing on the waves of the sea. And then, everything is gone and replaced by the screams and death and a feeling of utter loneliness, and she wonders if this is the end. If this is truly her last happy memory.

The cold fades away at that moment, and she is left alone in the dark to cry, with no memories but the ones where she sees her family and her best friend dead at her feet. There is no sunset to lighten her sorrow anymore, and she wishes she could die.

* * *

_I hope you liked this piece of angstiness - I certainly enjoyed writing it! :)_


End file.
